Latest news with #WhangāreiDistrictCouncil
NZ Herald
7 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Northland's biggest water services changes kick off in Whangārei
Whangārei could end up subsidising Kaipara and Far North water users in a move described as historic for Northland. Whangārei District Council (WDC) yesterday voted to set up a Northland-wide council-controlled organisation (CCO) as part of the Government's Local Water Done Well change requirements. The decision was a major milestone,
Otago Daily Times
23-07-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Homelessness increases but by how much is unclear
By Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira of RNZ Homelessness has increased, but by how much is unclear, according to a government report. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development's latest Homelessness Insights Report relies on data collected in Census 2023, observations collected from government agencies, councils and the sector, and found homelessness had increased, but it was impossible to quantify the exact increase. The report defines homelessness as living situations where people are forced to live; without shelter, in temporary accommodation, shared accommodation with a household or living in uninhabitable housing. It also looked into what support people receive 60 days after they exited emergency housing. Thirty-seven percent were housed in social housing, 29 percent went into transitional housing, 19 percent received the accommodation supplement and the remaining 14 percent may be living without shelter, although that cannot be confirmed. From May 2024 to March 2025, 972 households were housed through the Priority One Fast Track, including 2055 children, the report said. In March, 32 percent of applications for emergency housing were declined, up 4 percent from the previous year. The reasons people were declined include: 'The need can be met another way' (34.3 percent), 'Circumstances could have been reasonably foreseen' (22.5 percent), 'Not eligible for a grant' (16.7 percent) and 'Not an emergency situation' (14.7 percent). In Auckland, outreach providers reported they were working with 809 "unsheltered" clients, up from 426 in September 2024. Whangārei District Council has seen an increase in the number of public reports related to homelessness from 680 in 2023 to 1066 in 2024. The report said at the current rate, they are forecast to reach over 1200 reports in 2025. In a statement, Housing Minister Chris Bishop said the report confirmed what frontline organisations like the Auckland City Mission and Salvation Army had been saying: there are too many people in housing need. "Accurate numbers are difficult to pin down - people without shelter often move around and may avoid engaging with government services - but it's clear we have a real problem." he said. "The government takes this seriously. At present, over $550 million is spent annually across a range of programmes run by multiple agencies, including Transitional Housing, Housing First, Rapid Rehousing and many other support services." Census data between 2018 and 2023 period showed a 37 percent increase of people living without shelter, despite the use of Emergency Housing. Speaking to media, Green Party spokesperson for Housing Tamatha Paul said this confirms what many on the ground are saying. "Although the data might be inconclusive altogether, it does in part confirm what we are seeing on the ground, what frontline workers are seeing on the ground, and what people are saying when they're trying to access emergency housing," she said. "I'm glad that there's some more transparency around what we are seeing, and that there is information in that briefing that says this government intentionally ignored advice that their decision would make homelessness worse." Paul said a faster than expected drop in emergency housing numbers was to blame. "Now we know that the cruelty and the misery that underlined and underpinned that rapid decrease in emergency housing numbers also aligns with an increase in homelessness," Paul said. Speaking to media, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka said there was a range of support available for people who were declined emergency housing. "That could be through housing support products like tenancy cover, bond cover, all sorts of things. It could be in transitional housing or Housing First," he said. Potaka said he was confident there was support for many people who had been declined, but admitted he was unsure sure of "100 percent" of those people would get support. In a statement, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said the most significant jumps were in smaller cities. "In Taranaki, homelessness increased by 250 percent in just six months, and Whangārei is forecast to see 1200 reports of people who are homeless this year - in a population that is under 100,000 people" he said. "We have known homelessness has been rising since National came into government but Christopher Luxon, Chris Bishop and Tama Potaka have consistently denied it, ignoring everyone who gave them advice to the contrary." McAnulty said the rise in homelessness followed government decisions making it harder to access emergency housing.
Scoop
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
ACT Announces Matthew Yovich As ACT Local Candidate For Whangarei
ACT Local has selected — a qualified fitter-turner, youth coach, and community advocate — as its candidate for the Bream Bay Ward of the Whangārei District Council in this year's local election. Born and raised in Ruakākā, Yovich is a skilled tradesman and devoted father who spends his time balancing work, family life, and community service. He volunteers as a youth coach in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has a strong interest in local politics, driven by a desire to ensure the next generation inherits a region that works for everyone. Matthew brings real-world experience, practical thinking, and a deep understanding of the pressures faced by working families in Northland. 'I'm standing to bring practical, community-focused leadership to our district. As a working parent and volunteer, I see the real impact of rising rates and poor infrastructure. I want better value from council spending, better services, and decisions that reflect the priorities of local families — not bureaucrats.' – Matthew Yovich Earlier this year, ACT New Zealand announced it would be standing Common Sense Candidates for local government for the first time — after hearing from New Zealanders across the country who are sick of rising rates, ballooning budgets, and councils that ignore the basics while chasing ideological vanity projects. When you vote ACT Local, you know what you're getting: Fixing the basics Lower Rates Cutting the waste Ending race-based politics Restoring accountability ACT Local Government spokesperson Cameron Luxton says: ' ACT Local candidates are community-minded Kiwis who've had enough of wasteful councils treating ratepayers like ATMs. It's time to take control on behalf of ratepayers — to restore accountability and deliver real value for money. ACT Local is about getting the basics right: maintaining roads, keeping streets clean, and respecting the people who pay the bills. Our candidates won't divide people by race or get distracted by climate vanity projects. They're here to serve, not lecture." – Cameron Luxton
NZ Herald
18-05-2025
- General
- NZ Herald
On The Up: Te Kamo Scout Group recognised in national Volunteer of the Month award
Corney said in scouting, there was a set of 'Better World' badges that could be earned with a focus on making the world a better place, which had been the drive behind their efforts. Scouts could earn badges for climate change, community, conservation, equity, oceans, sustainable choices and more. 'Because we spend quite a lot of time outdoors, that's the environment we're operating in, so we teach about looking after it so it's there for the next generation.' Corney said there had been times at certain locations when they'd returned a year later to find it cleaner and greener than before. 'The youth are very proud of what they're doing. They can see it's making a difference.' Picking up rubbish was a regular part of their programmes, such as when they hiked the Tangihuia track in Kaipara during June last year and hauled out over 10kg of rubbish. 'We don't just talk about it, we get out there and do it,' he said. It was partnerships with local groups such as For Our Real Clean Environment [Force] that ensured they could not just collect rubbish but dispose of it too, he said. 'I think sometimes that the fear for some groups is we'd pick up a tyre out of a river, but foot the bill out of disposing of it.' Corney said his Scouts knew they were in the running for the award when they were interviewed for it. After getting a congratulatory phone call, it was up on the Keep New Zealand Beautiful Facebook page the same day. 'I was stoked that the actions had been recognised,' he said. Corney said it was nice to be in a position to help rather than asking for help after their hall burned down in 2011. The group were nominated by the Whangārei District Council's waste minimisation officer, Wendy Bertholet. She said it was how they had taken part in their own and wider clean-ups that demonstrated their keenness to make the world a better place. 'They learn about issues and take action to make things better for both the people and the environment.' 'I recommended the Te Kamo Scout Group for their consistent work in this mahi.'
NZ Herald
16-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- NZ Herald
Whangārei family's sustainable renovation breathes new life into CBD
She had been working with Ngāti Hine Forestry Trust on potential extracts from trees on its land, and when she found out the building the trust tenanted was for sale, she quickly declared her love for it. Gregory said the 1960s building had potential but was very tired, with an unusable courtyard, 14 different air conditioning units and the top floor leaking from internal gutters. 'Every time it rained a bit more water got inside,' he said. 'But if you squinted you could see there was really good bones - there was potential.' The couple moved into the apartment with Mary Smith and her dog Jaz, initially anxious about the large change from the country. But all quickly found they liked the convenience of inner-city living, with almost everything available within walking distance: including events, art galleries, film nights and an extensive array of eateries. They have also not had any problems with a lack of safety or excessive noise. Mary Smith soon decided she should be putting her green thumbs to use on the green space in the neighbouring car park and Whangārei District Council gave its blessing. She transformed what was an overgrown and weedy grass area with hundreds of plants grown from seed, with the gardening soon spreading across the car park with layers of yuccas, flax, hebes, succulents and other shrubs. Mary Smith said she gets plenty of positive feedback, especially from regular car park users. 'One lady said, 'I love coming to work on Monday seeing what you've done over the weekend'.' Scroll through the photo gallery to see more detail of the renovations: Image 1 of 5: Pete Gregory and Jules Smith are proud of the renovation, which has created an industrial chic office space upstairs. Photo / Denise Piper With the family's love of outdoors evident, the first stage of the Vinery Lane redevelopment was to transform the outdoor area in 2021. Advertisement Advertise with NZME. The couple bought a sliver of land from the council's car park and built an engineered retaining wall, complete with private car park and Balinese-inspired sheltered courtyard on top. In 2022, stage two of the development saw the lower-level office, previously occupied by a small law firm, transformed into a modern, open-plan 50sq m office space. The final, and biggest, stage of the redevelopment took place after Ngāti Hine Forestry Trust ended its tenancy in June 2024. Jules Smith and Gregory took the opportunity to modernise the space, upgrade the seismic rating of the building, and replace the problematic roof and internal gutters. Using local firm DHS Construction, the final stage involved tenting the building, removing the roof and adding considerable structural steel. The new space is a modern, industrial chic office space with exposed metal beams, bagged brick and vintage kitchen light shades from Bali. With the carpet freshly installed, the couple hope to lease the office space now it has been finished. But the finished building is just one half of the renovation story: the other half is the way materials were reused or recycled during the project. With Jules Smith's new business, Again, focused on reusing textiles and the couple discovering 40 to 50% of landfill waste is from construction, they decided to recycle where possible. 'We didn't feel it was right for us to make an improvement to the building but at the same time add to the waste stream going to landfill, when it could be distributed around the community,' she said. Recycling the old materials soon became Gregory's fulltime job, including painstakingly cleaning 7000 bricks, 4.5 tonnes of acoustic ceiling tiles, 14 rimu doors and 250m of Oregon roof beams. A lot of the materials went to projects around Northland, such as tiny homes, while most of the metal could be recycled, he said. Innovation even saw things like 3cu m of mortar rubble being used for hard-fill and treated timber being used by mental health provider Ka Puta Ka Ora Emerge Aotearoa for raised garden planters. The project also used recycled wall panels saveBOARD, made from old milk cartons, to further increase the recycling. Like many grand designs, the project ran over budget and over time, but the final cost was still less than a new building and something that will stand the test of time, Gregory said. 'There's a lot of tired commercial buildings in Whangārei that haven't been shown the love: this is a good example of what you can do to transform it.'
